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Two-month process for Chemainus house move

Snowy weather extended the process slightly
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This is how the site at 9833 Willow Street looked after Monday’s move with the hole left in the aftermath Tuesday. The hole will soon start to be filled in again with the construction of a seven-unit multi-family dwelling on the site, known as the Cottages on Willow. (Photo by Don Bodger)

The process that preceded the moving of the large second storey house at 9833 Willow St. on March 4 began two months earlier.

On Jan. 3, the preliminary work began when the Haz Force (asbestos removers) arrived at the property in protective clothing. It took a week for the three-man crew to complete this labourious task in the contained area of the second storey and attic. By Jan. 14, it was now ready for Belton Bros. Structural Movers to start the long process of gutting the first storey and garage of the house.

Two days later, the crew of Curtis Kirwan, Tristan Mutch and Shamag Joseph started on the exterior with cutting the stucco which was the initial separation of the bottom level from the top level of the house. It took until Jan. 30 for the bottom level to be completely separated from the top level.

Now that the house was completely separated, the top second storey was supported on steel beams and wooden blocks under the beam. Later, hydraulic wheels would be attached to these steel beams so the house could be rolled off the property. But before this could happen, the windows and walls between the windows on the first storey had to be removed. Then came the snow storm that delayed work for two weeks.

Belton Bros. returned, even though there was still a considerable amount of frozen snow by the house on Feb. 20 to remove the carport.

The Belton crew of Mark Park, Kirwan and James Woodend under the supervision of Cory Belton knew there was still a lot more work before the house was ready to go. They now hired Marty’s heavy equipment company to remove and crush the concrete stairs and to dig a deep incline at the rear of the house so the hydraulic wheels could be attached to the steel frame on Feb. 28. The house was then ready to roll and that’s the whole story.

Belton Bros. did a tremendous job and formed a wonderful camaraderie with each other and neighbours during the past two months.

Jon Lefebure and Marlene Hayes are turning their property into seven charming cottages to be known as Cottages on Willow. The excavation will start once the development permit and building permit processes are completed around mid-April.

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It’s a tight fit for Belton Brothers Structural Movers to get the house from 9833 Willow St. past the Chemainus Theatre on Chemainus Road in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. (Photo courtesy of Cory Belton)
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Belton crew of Curtis Kirwan, Tristan Mutch and Shamag Joseph. (Photo by Kathleen Kelly)
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Mark Park the driver who had to be so precise to manoeuvre the house through town. (Photo by Kathleen Kelly)
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Night moves: House move starts at 11:30 p.m. Monday. House was pulled up the Laurel Street hill to just before the stop sign at 11:50 p.m. The stop sign was removed to make more room for the turn. It took an hour and 40 minutes to complete the turn for the house to be ready to roll up Willow Street. By then, it was 1:32 a.m. It turned right onto Cypress Street where it encountered a parked vehicle that took some manuevering to get around. By 2:04 a.m. at the corner of Cypress and Chemainus Road, the house took a left-hand turn with no trouble. It proceeded along Chemainus Road reaching the Chemainus Theatre at 2:14 a.m. and continued along Chemainus Road to its eventual final stop at 9401 Lot 5, Trans Canada Highway at 2:30 a.m. (Photo by Kathleen Kelly)
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Crews prepare the house for the move. (Photo by Kathleen Kelly)


Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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